Is Queen Regent Míriel Blind in The Rings of Power? & Will She Get Her Sight Back?

Episode 7 of The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power allowed us to see the effects of Orodruin’s eruption in the previous episode, as there were plenty of characters who contemplated the feelings of loss. However, some characters lost some aspects of themselves on top of the fact that they lost some people due to the volcano’s eruption. We are talking about Queen Regent Míriel, who seemingly lost her sight. So, is Míriel blind in The Rings of Power?

It does seem like Queen Regent Míriel lost her sight in The Rings of Power, as she could no longer see during the time when Elendil was guiding her all the way back to the Númenorean camp. She lost her sight when flame sparks flew into her eyes when she went back for Isildur in the burning house.

Queen Míriel losing her eyesight is one of the biggest twists of The Rings of Power, considering that she was never blinded in Tolkien’s works. However, this twist could be one of the reasons why she would end up losing power in Númenor, as it is more than likely that this would give rise to Ar-Pharazôn as the new leader of the island nation. Now, let’s look at how Míriel became blind.

Is Míriel Blind?

The last time we saw the Númenoreans, they were facing the eruption of Orodruin, as the entire Southlands was engulfed in a sea of ash and smoke due to the massive cataclysmic disaster brought about by Adar and his supporters. Episode 7 of The Rings of Power allowed us to see what became of the Southlands and the people that were caught in the massive eruption. Of course, Queen Regent Míriel was one of those who were able to take an active part in helping out those who were still trying to find a way to safety.

At one point, Míriel helped out in rescuing a few survivors trapped inside a burning home. She seemed to have suffered injuries in that endeavor, as this was the part where Isildur seemingly got crushed under the weight of a burning home after he helped the queen help a few survivors to safety.

Meanwhile, Valandil was able to help Queen Míriel to safety, as they found themselves joining the survivors that were on their way to the Númenorean camp just outside of the Southlands. Elendil was there to greet them as he allowed the queen to ride his horse while guiding her back to safety.

In one scene, Míriel was seemingly wearing a blank look on her face as she was asking how far the camp was. She also asked Elendil how far before they were clear of the smoke, as this surprised the captain because there was no longer any smoke covering their vision for about a mile already. This was when he realized that Queen Regent Míriel could only see gray, as she was now blind and was not able to see anything anymore.

During that time, Míriel urged both Elendil and Valandil to continue walking so that no one would ever notice that she had lost her sight. It might have been her way of making everyone see that she had not lost her strength during a time when both the Númenoreans and the Southlanders needed her the most.

But, back in camp, it was clear that she could no longer see, as she had to wear a blindfold during her entire duration there. Galadriel, who was able to find her way to the camp together with Theo, was also there to greet the queen, as the Elf was apologetic for what had happened to her.

It was during this time when Queen Míriel vowed to Galadriel that Númenor would one day return to Middle-earth to finish this fight with the Orcs. As such, she told Elendil that they now needed to return to Númenor, where she might urge the rest of the Númenoreans to send a much larger force to Middle-earth as a way for her to take revenge for what had happened to her and her people. 

How Did Míriel Lose Her Sight?

To those who didn’t keep an eye on what happened to Queen Míriel during the earlier part of the episode, she lost her eyesight during the time when she was helping the people trapped inside the burning home. During that time, Isildur was holding the burning wooden beams up so that the queen could rescue the people inside.

After Míriel had rescued the survivors, she went back to help Isildur. However, the flames had already begun to engulf the entire home, as sparks flew into her eyes right when she was about to enter the home. This was what seemingly took Isildur. Of course, this was also the event that took Míriel’s eyesight as the flames that flew into her eyes blinded her.

Will Míriel Get Her Sight Back?

At this point, it is possible that Queen Regent Míriel is now permanently blind and will never recover her eyesight. We can say this for certain because Galadriel, who knows that Elvish medicine is far more advanced than what Men could offer, didn’t even offer to allow her people to heal Míriel’s eyesight, as it is possible that her eyes are already beyond healing.

Míriel’s blindness could also be one of the plotlines that the series could use to decrease her power over Númenor, as Ar-Pharazôn increases his own hold over the country. And this can be presumed from what we know about Númenor in JRR Tolkien’s writings.

In Tolkien’s writings, Ar-Pharazôn became king of Númenor when he tricked Míriel into marrying him. This probably isn’t possible in the series, but it is likely that Ar-Pharazôn will take the opportunity to seize power upon learning that Míriel is now blind and can no longer function as a ruling monarch the same way she once did.

Again, in Tolkien’s writings, the fact that Ar-Pharazôn took power was the very reason why Númenor eventually fell to its doom. His rule was one that was golden in terms of the prosperity of the kingdom, but he became far too proud to the point that he took Sauron as a prisoner and even became tempted to listen to the dark lord’s fair form. This led Ar-Pharazôn to worship Melkor or the one they call Morgoth.

Eventually, Ar-Pharazôn wanted to obtain immortality, and that was what prompted Sauron to urge him to sail with a huge force to Valinor so that he could take immortality by force from the Valar. And this was what forced the Valar to allow the ocean to once again take Númenor back into the depths while also destroying Ar-Pharazôn and his army in what became the Fall of Númenor.

As such, the fact that Míriel is now permanently blind could be one of the plotlines that the series will use to allow Ar-Pharazôn to take Númenor’s seat of power as his own. And this will eventually lead to what we already know was going to come to the Númenoreans—the Fall of Númenor, which is an important part of the history of Middle-earth.